The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is India’s first education policy of the 21st century, designed to transform the country’s education system into one that is equitable, inclusive, multidisciplinary, and globally competitive while remaining rooted in Indian values and culture. 

It envisions education as a fundamental driver of human potential, social justice, national development, and economic progress. The policy seeks to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning opportunities by 2030.

Recognising rapid changes in technology, artificial intelligence, climate change, and the evolving employment landscape, NEP 2020 shifts the focus of education from rote memorisation to critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, adaptability, and lifelong learning. 

It emphasises that students should not merely acquire knowledge but also develop the ability to learn, innovate, collaborate, and respond to emerging global challenges. To achieve this, the policy advocates learner-centred, inquiry-driven, experiential, discussion-based, and multidisciplinary pedagogy.

The curriculum is to be streamlined by reducing excessive content and focusing on core concepts, conceptual understanding, and competency-based learning. Classroom teaching is expected to become more interactive, engaging, and exploratory through hands-on activities, storytelling, arts-integrated education, sports-integrated learning, and experiential pedagogy.

And with the focus now being on amping children’s critical thinking skills, the need for teachers to match up to this is more crucial than ever. 

Blending AI with competency-based learning 

The vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 can only be realised through the meaningful integration of emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), across all levels of education. 

As India positions itself as a global AI powerhouse, the education system must prepare students for an AI-driven economy. According to NASSCOM, India’s AI talent pool, estimated at 600,000–650,000 professionals in 2024, must more than double to over 1.25 million by 2027 to meet industry demand.

Recognising this shift, NEP 2020 identifies AI, machine learning, big data, computer science, and data science as essential disciplines for future-ready learners. 

It advocates multidisciplinary education that equips students with technological skills alongside critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving abilities required in the evolving labour market.

To translate this vision into practice, the Government of India, according to reports, has launched several initiatives. AI has been integrated into school education through CBSE and NCERT, with AI skill modules introduced from Class VI and AI offered as an elective in Classes IX–XII. 

There are also digital learning platforms such as DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing), which provides access to QR-coded digital textbooks, and SOAR (Skilling for AI Readiness), which trains students in basic concepts of machine learning.

By democratising access to AI technologies, supporting AI research, and developing inclusive tools for learners with disabilities, these initiatives collectively advance NEP 2020’s goal of creating an equitable, future-ready education system capable of preparing India’s youth for the demands of the 21st century while supporting the nation’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

AI as an enabler of conceptual learning 

When speaking of AI’s role in education, it is impossible not to mention the contribution of SWAYAM Plus, developed to support the goals of NEP 2020 by making high-quality, industry-relevant education accessible to learners across India. It leverages technology to reach millions of additional learners, particularly those in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. 

Implemented by IIT Madras in collaboration with leading industries and ed-tech partners, the platform offers affordable certification and professional development programmes in sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, IT, management, teacher education, hospitality, media, and Indian knowledge systems. 

A similar tool, but more focused on employing AI in academia and classrooms, is Spark School AI, an AI-powered teaching platform developed by educator and data scientist Alok Kumar Singh to reduce teachers’ administrative workload and improve classroom preparedness. 

Built specifically for the realities of Indian classrooms, the platform was inspired by Singh’s experiences as a Teach For India fellow, where he worked with children from under-resourced and riot-affected communities. 

He observed that teachers spent significant time preparing lesson material instead of focusing on teaching, prompting him to create a solution that simplifies lesson planning while keeping teachers at the centre of the learning process.

The platform is aligned with major education boards, including CBSE, ICSE, state boards, IB, and Cambridge, and supports students from Grades 1 to 12. Teachers can generate curriculum-aligned lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes, assessments, STEM activities, and exam preparation material within seconds by selecting their board, grade, subject, and chapter. 

When AI doesn’t replace teachers, but assists them

Rather than replacing educators, Spark School AI provides structured first drafts that teachers can customise according to their students’ learning needs, allowing them to spend more time on instruction, engagement, and personalised support.

Designed as a comprehensive classroom planning tool, Spark School AI consolidates lesson preparation, assessment creation, revision planning, and student progress tracking within a single dashboard. It also integrates with Google Workspace and supports multiple Indian languages, including Hindi. An offline-first approach is being developed to ensure accessibility in schools with limited internet connectivity, making it suitable for both government and private institutions.

The platform has demonstrated measurable impact across pilot schools. Teachers report saving nearly 50 percent of their weekly lesson-planning time, particularly in subjects requiring frequent worksheet creation and differentiated learning material. Educators have also reported greater confidence in classroom delivery, reduced repetitive planning, and improved access to organised teaching resources.

Currently deployed across schools in Ahmedabad, Pune, Delhi NCR, Kota, Agra, parts of the UAE, and government schools in Uttar Pradesh, Spark School AI aims to expand to 400 schools over the next three years. 

By offering affordable pricing and focusing on teacher productivity rather than automation, the platform exemplifies how AI can support the vision of NEP 2020, creating learner-centred classrooms where technology empowers teachers, enhances educational quality, and improves learning outcomes at scale.

Perception of students towards AI

A study exploring undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students’ perceptions of AI in higher education reveals a largely positive outlook towards its integration into teaching and learning. 

Most students recognise AI as a valuable educational tool with the potential to improve academic performance, healthcare, and future employment opportunities. 

Students expressed enthusiasm for incorporating AI into their daily academic activities, appreciating its ability to automate repetitive tasks, provide personalised learning support, and improve efficiency. However, the findings also indicate that students do not view AI as a replacement for human educators. Instead, they believe AI should complement teachers by reducing administrative burdens and enhancing classroom learning.

A recurring theme across the responses is the irreplaceable role of teachers in providing emotional support, creativity, mentorship, empathy, and critical thinking, qualities that AI cannot replicate. Students emphasised that meaningful learning depends on human interaction, encouragement, and ethical guidance, aspects that remain beyond the capabilities of current AI technologies.

This is where Spark School has struck a chord with students.

The findings of the study advocate for a balanced approach to AI integration in education. Rather than replacing educators, AI should function as a supportive tool that enhances teaching effectiveness, personalises learning, and automates routine tasks while preserving the central role of teachers. 

To this end, if scaled across India’s education system, Spark School AI could allow educators to devote more time to meaningful classroom interaction, mentoring, and experiential learning. Its curriculum-aligned resources, multilingual support, and potential offline functionality can improve educational access in underserved regions, helping bridge learning disparities while ensuring that technology strengthens, rather than replaces, the role of teachers in delivering quality education.